Council approves controversial license plate readers

San Diego Keeps Big Brother on the Payroll

After nearly six hours of heated debate and over 180 speakers, the San Diego City Council voted Tuesday to let police keep watching your license plates.

The council approved 54 surveillance technologies for SDPD, but the real drama centered on automated license plate readers and smart streetlight cameras. Those squeaked through on close votes of 5-3 and 6-2 respectively.

Here's the situation: Since 2024, about 500 ALPR cameras mounted on streetlights across our neighborhoods have been scanning license plates and storing the data for 30 days. Police say the technology has helped solve over 600 investigations, recovered $5.8 million in stolen property, and contributed to a 20% drop in vehicle theft.

Not bad, right? But the opposition packed city hall with concerns about privacy and potential abuse, particularly regarding federal immigration enforcement. One speaker captured the mood perfectly, noting that "bad actors exist" and "you can set up all the restrictions you want, but people will go right through them."

The city's own Privacy Advisory Board recommended scrapping the Flock Safety system entirely back in November. The council essentially said "thanks, but no thanks."

Police Chief Scott Wahl acknowledged a past "configuration error" allowed outside agencies to access the data briefly, but called it an "honest miss" rather than a breach. Councilman Sean Elo-Rivera wasn't buying it, calling Flock "a proven bad actor."

The total bill for installation sits at roughly $3.5 million. San Diego keeps data for just 30 days, the shortest retention period in the county compared to Escondido's two years.

Whether you feel safer or surveilled probably depends on which side of the debate you stand.

Sources: 10News | NBC San Diego | KPBS | CBS 8 | FOX 5